The field of the invention is barbecue grills and smokers for cooking, and in particular charcoal-fueled barbecue grills and smokers.
Outdoor grilling has long been a popular method of cooking meats and other foods due to the desirable flavors that are developed by this cooking method. The development of the modern charcoal briquette in the early twentieth century led to the widespread production of charcoal-fueled grills intended for personal use. Gas-fueled grills, which were first mass produced in the 1950's, compete with charcoal-fueled grills in the modern marketplace. Many gas-fueled grills are powered by the burning of propane from a small adjacent tank, although others use natural gas and are connected to natural gas lines. Although gas-fueled grills are popular due to ease of lighting and use, many barbecue enthusiasts believe that charcoal-fueled grills produce foods with a more desirable taste due to the unique smoke flavors imparted to the food during cooking.
Charcoal-fueled grills come in many sizes and shapes. The simplest are merely pans made of sheet metal to receive the charcoal, with a wire cooking grid placed above the pan and a support stand. Most grills include a lid to hold in smoke and help prevent “flare-ups” from grease dripping onto the charcoal, and many include vents that may be opened or closed to varying degrees in order to control the burn rate of the charcoal, and thus control the cooking temperature within the grill.
Although many types of charcoal-fueled barbecue grills are available, they generally remain less convenient to use than gas-fueled grills, and the cooking or smoking of food in these grills remains more difficult to control than with gas-fueled grills. A charcoal-fueled grill that combines the ease of use and controllability of gas grills with the desirable flavor characteristics of a charcoal-fueled grill would thus be highly desirable.